Answer
by flashpenguin
Summary: Emily discovers Dave's deal with Strauss to keep her on the team. During the battle for who's right a thin line is crossed as walls come down. *Subject matter may be uncomfortable to some readers.* Part of the SOUL SEARCH SERIES.


_This is the second follow-up to **Daddy's Favourite Fool **and **My Angel Baby**. If you read the first two stories, you may remember that when Dave agreed to Strauss's demands, JJ was fired and Emily took a big pay cut (which Dave offered to secretly fund out of his own pocket). Ahhh...the best laid plans of mice and men! Seems through a banking error (and Strauss spilling the beans), Dave's secret has been exposed. And Emily is ready for war! As with any war, the "victor" is determined by who suffers the fewest losses. This is a semi-dark chapter and after much internal wrangling, I decided to leave in a scene. I believe that it does define Dave and Emily and the fine line we as humans walk every day. I might be taking a risk, but if I avoided it could I really call myself a writer? Please leave a PM or review._

_This story is dedicated to Tracia- the only person who knows Rossi better than I do!_

_Song prompt: **Answer by Sarah McLachlan **(for Emily)_

_Sub-song prompt:** Affair Of The Heart by Rick Springfield** (for Dave)_

_A/N: Flavor-Aid is what was used at the Jonestown Massacre and any FBI agent worth his pay would use the correct terminology. So, it is not a goof for Dave to say "Talk about drinking the flavor-aid" opposed to "drinking the kool-aid"._

* * *

**Answer**

_That fussy, anal-retentive, neat-freak!_ Prentiss fumed to herself. _How dare he? Of all the low down dirty back-handed conniving…_ She was running out of adjectives to describe the betrayal she was feeling. And to think she promised JJ she would forgive him. Ha! Forgive him; she wanted to kick his ass!

Standing outside Strauss's office door, Prentiss tried to catch her breath. Was it true what Strauss had said about Rossi funding her paycheque for the past five months? How was that possible? Well, she was just going to have to go to the source for the answers.

Stepping up to his office, she knocked on the door. Sticking her head inside, she met his eyes with a glare. "My place. Tonight. If you know what's good for you." Then she closed the door and stomped off. It was about time David Rossi got a piece of someone's mind and damn if she wasn't going to be the one doing the serving.

She was going to show him a thing or two about manipulating people lives. She was done with the politics; she wanted some answers.

* * *

David Rossi rang the door bell and waited. From the moment Prentiss stuck her head in his office and requested - or more like demanded- his presence at her place, he knew what had happened.

Two quick phone calls- one to Garcia and one to his accountant- gave him all he needed to know where he stood with his partner; she had found out about him funding her paycheque. To say he was in deep shit would be an understatement.

_Curse Erin Strauss to hell!_ All she had to do was keep her damn mouth shut and he could have fixed everything with a simple phone call. But no, she had to let the cat out of the bag. He knew for sure that woman was determined seven ways to Monday to destroy the team any way she could.

Pressing his fingers against the bridge of his nose, Dave rang the bell again. _Come on Prentiss, I want to get this over as soon as possible_.

Considering how long it took to recover from his run in with JJ, he just wanted to hear what Prentiss had to say and then leave. At his age it was getting harder and harder to lick his wounds and bounce back.

Suddenly the door swung open and Emily was standing in the door way. Swallowing hard, Dave felt himself sweat. Okay, this shouldn't be any different than what went down with JJ- of course she had bombarded him on _his_ turf; this time he was willingly walking into the lion's den. And only one person was walking out alive. He would lay odds that it wasn't going to be him.

"May I come in?" Dave asked. With a sweep of her hand, Emily motioned him forward. Looking around, he took in the quaint but airy room. "Much more space than the apartment," he complimented.

"Initially I wasn't comfortable about getting a house because I wasn't sure if I wanted to maintain a yard, but now I know it's going to come in handy when I dispose of your sorry ass!"

_Uh-oh!_ Dave looked down to see her footwear and breathed a sigh. The boots would have definitely sealed his fate, but bare feet meant that it was possible that she could still be reasonable. On the other hand, the grey sweats and flannel shirt indicated that she wasn't above her threat; it was possible she had a shovel to go with her pistol. Flannel, guns, shovels...he was so fucked.

"Aren't you a little afraid the team might miss me?" Dave tried to joke. The more he tried to divert her attention from the main subject, the more likely he was to walk away with most of his limbs.

"I'm pretty sure once I remind them what a lying, back-stabbing, manipulative bastard you are, they will abandon the S&R."

Dave grimaced. It was worse than he thought. Taking a deep breath, he decided enough of the pussy footing; it was time to get to down to business. "But who will continue to supplement your cheque?" he replied sardonically.

"That was low, even for you." Squaring her shoulders, Emily launched into her partner. "I know all about it!"

"Do you now?"

"Oh yes, I do!" Walking over to the coffee table, she picked up the folder and extracted a couple sheets of paper. "Director Strauss filled me in on your little deal."

Dave raised his eyebrow. "I'll bet she did. Would you like to hear my side?"

Emily slapped the papers in his hand. "I would if you had a side. Seems everything right there is pretty damn self explanatory. You not only sold JJ out, but you sold me out too. Does your ego know no limits?"

Dave scanned the letter Strauss had made him sign the morning after agreeing to cut JJ and keep Emily on half pay. He had her promise on a handshake that the dealings would remain confidential and all records would be destroyed after a year. He should have known Strauss would find a way to undermine him to the team.

"Emily, I was only doing what I thought was best."

"David Rossi is doing something out of the kindness of his heart without wanting something in return. Hmmph! How many women has that worked on?"

"You want to bring baggage in and make this personal? Fine. But be ready for some cold hard truths. What is on this paper is not what went down that night and in Strauss's office. She wanted to fire you along with JJ."

"No she didn't. She wanted to keep me. It was you who wanted to keep JJ, and only agreed when she offered to cut my pay."

Dave felt the anger rise up. "Like hell she did! She wanted the both of you gone; I tried like hell to keep you and JJ."

"That's not what's in that memo."

"So all of a sudden you are a believer in Erin Strauss? Talk about drinking the flavor-aid. That woman is going to stop at nothing to make me and Hotch look bad, and now it appears she's succeeded." Dave looked down at the papers that had sealed his fate. Balling them up, he threw them to the ground. "Did she tell you that in order to keep you on the team, I agreed to forfeit my pay for an entire year?"

Emily tried to find something to say to reply back, but couldn't.

"Did she also tell you that the deal originally was that you both would take a pay cut and I would supplement the difference? But she didn't want that. She wants to make me bleed and she's succeeding. Everyday I walk in and see JJ's office and she isn't in it. And it hurts. But I still had you. It took weeks before you would agree to team with me, but I figured we were back."

"We were until you lied to me," Emily spat.

"I didn't lie."

"You didn't tell me the truth."

"I'm telling it to you now and look where it's getting me." Dave paused and tried to reign in his temper. "What was I supposed to do, tell you: Hey Prentiss guess what? In order to keep you on the team I have to let JJ go, cut your pay, and forfeit mine?"

"Yes. A little honesty between co-workers would have been nice. If I can't rely on you to tell me the truth behind my staying on the team, how am I supposed to rely on you covering my back?"

"There's no comparison. What I did has nothing to do with protecting my team."

"You made a backdoor deal that concerned me and my job!"

"I hate to tell you sweetheart, but that deal was confidential. She had no right to tell you."

"The hell she didn't!"

"This was going along just fine, until my accountant screwed up and forgot to post the payment. I have it fixed so it won't happen again."

"I don't want your money!" Emily flared.

"Well, you're stuck with it! A deal's a deal!"

Her response was to step into the kitchen. When she came back she was holding a cheque book. "Do you have a pen?" she demanded. Before Dave could answer, she grabbed the one out of his breast pocket. Sitting at the bar, she calculated a number then furiously wrote. Finished, she ripped the paper out and thrust it and the pen toward Dave.

Dumbfounded, Dave glanced at the multi-colored sheet with his name, her name, and a dollar amount. Narrowing his eyes, he looked at her. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Take it. Consider my debt paid back in full. I have no desire for your blood money."

"It wasn't blood money; it was something I wanted to do. If Strauss had asked me to sever my arm for either you or JJ, I would have done that too. Money doesn't mean anything to me."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Oh how saintly of you. What are you going to tell me next: that you volunteer at the local humane society?"

"Emily," Dave growled threateningly.

"Don't you dare 'Emily' me!" Thrusting the cheque again, her voice quavered, "Take the damn the money and leave my house!"

Daintily Dave plucked the paper from Emily's fingers. Giving her a look that dared her to stop him, he proceeded to rip the cheque into little pieces and let them fall to the floor.

Unable to speak, Emily pushed her way past him to the door and swung it open. "Get out! I never want to see you again you arrogant son of a bitch!"

Dave shook his head in denial then spun on his heel and proceeded toward her. Head down, he walked past her but at the last minute his hand slammed against the wood and threw the door closed.

Emily looked at the door and then at Dave. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded. Without warning, Dave grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her against the wall.

"I'm tired of being everyone's whipping boy. First Strauss, then JJ, now you. Goddamn it, I can only take so much."

Emily looked up and saw the hurt, anger, rage, and guilt in his eyes. Instead of being moved, it only fueled her temper. "Let me go!" She struggled against his vise-like grip.

"No. Not until you hear me out. I did what I thought was best. Maybe it wasn't the right thing, but I didn't have many options to work with. You weren't there, you have no idea the hell I was going thru. And I hope you never have to know. But I made a decision, and it was the wrong one all the way around. Now I have to live with the consequences everyday."

"I'm not going to say it again; let me go David Rossi!"

His unwavering gaze held hers."I've had to stand toe to toe with Erin Strauss; do you really think I'm afraid of you?"

"I hate you!" Emily spat.

"That makes two of us." He was tired of playing by the rules; he was going to do things his way. Dipping his head down, he captured her lips with his. It was not a gentle possession- he wanted her…all of her. Here. Now. He forced her mouth open with his tongue while his hands tried to undo the buttons on her shirt. Fingers fumbling from desire, desperation, and anger, he gave up and ripped it open.

"What are you doing?" Emily breathed against his mouth.

"Shut up!" Dave growled as he lowered his head to suckle her nipple thru the thin satin material of her bra.

"Oh God!" Emily gasped as her body broke out in chills. Overwhelmed by his hot mouth against her skin, Emily could barely breathe or think as her hands weaved into his hair and she arched against him. What his mouth was doing to her should be against the law, she thought as he moved over and teased the other nipple.

Emily was far from being a virgin, but Dave Rossi was making her feel like one as he teased, tormented and loved her with his tongue. Eager to reciprocate, her hands found his belt and loosened it then undid the snap on his jeans. She knew there was no going back but she didn't care. Lowering the zipper she took him in her hand and touched him.

Groaning, Dave left Emily's breast and captured her mouth for a kiss full of everything he couldn't say, and she returned it. He never considered her a shrinking violet, and she was proving him correct; each time he thought he had her beat she came back for more. Now with her hands on him, it was all he could do not to lose control. Control.

Breaking away, he tried to catch his breath. What the hell was he doing? He never planned for this to happen. _Ah the hell you didn't_, his mind taunted. _You've been thinking about nailing this raven haired temptress from the moment you laid eyes on her_. Perhaps, but he never dreamed when he did take her it would be in the throes of anger, against a wall; he needed to stop and walk away. It was all wrong. He was above this. Or was he?

But he wanted her, and he could tell by the way she was stroking him that the feeling was mutual. He reached for her sweat pants and loosened the drawstring and let them fall to the floor. A quick glance downward had him sucking in his breath. _Dear sweet mother of God_!

"You're not wearing…"

"Nope."

That was all it took. Pushing her against the wall, Dave hooked his hands under her creamy thighs and lifted them around his waist as he plunged hard and deep inside of her with one fluid stroke. He heard her surprised gasp. But he wasn't trying to be gentle. He was tired of being gentle and walking on egg shells around everyone, especially around Emily Prentiss. Another deep thrust of his hips set the rhythm and dared her to keep up.

Emily was shocked by his thrust. She had wanted him to take her, but it was too soon; she wasn't completely ready for him. Although it wasn't painful, her body tried to accommodate his premature thrusts. But it was too much, too fast, too soon. She tried to keep up, but couldn't. He was taking advantage of the situation and using what she felt for him against her each time he pulled out and pushed back in.

Slowly it dawned on her what he was doing; he was punishing himself thru her Okay, two could play that game. Dipping her head into the crook of his neck, she nipped him. And what had begun as a possession of the body was becoming a game of give and take with neither participant willing to surrender to the other.

"You want to bite me, Emily?" Dave taunted. "Go ahead. Do your worst. Show me how you really feel." He could feel her anger just below the surface and wondered what it would take to make her lose control. Shifting his hips, he buried himself deeper in her. He needed to touch her, feel her in a way he had never touched another woman before.

One thrust for one nip. He wanted her to hurt him the way he believed he deserved, and she wanted to give it to him for all the hurt he caused her and her friends. For all the lies and deception and the lonely nights…he had to pay. It was an even trade. She wouldn't draw blood, but he was going to remember this night for a long time.

Dave was a bottle of emotions waiting to explode. His guilt was obvious, his anger real, the betrayal deep- all at himself. He had never taken his emotions out on another person, but he had never experienced what he was feeling before. He had willingly let himself be taken advantage of -first by his wives, Strauss, and JJ. It made him feel helpless and he hated feeling helpless and out of control. So he was taking it out on Emily. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but was he strong enough to walk away? _This is wrong; I have to walk away. I have to stop._

"I can't stop," Dave whispered out loud to the voice in his head.

"You don't have to stop," Emily whispered back. "I can take it."

Yes, she could. Emily Prentiss could take anything, but would she take his guilt, his shame, his…oh God! He could feel her tighten around him like a satin fist, stroking, pumping, and egging him on to the finish line. He could hear her whispering his name and his body responded by picking up the tempo. He had to claim her, leave his mark so no matter who came after, she would always be his. Hell, it was only fair since he had sacrificed himself for her; he could take a piece of her soul with him…wasn't it?

Emily felt the strain of Dave holding back. She felt the battle going on inside- the one to conquer or surrender- when it came to Dave she knew which side he was on. She was ready to change that right now. Flexing her muscle, she pulled herself tighter around him and held him. Then released. She kept on until she knew she had him right where she wanted. Each thrust was met with defiance. No way she was going to make it easy for him. She wondered when he last lost control. If his motions were any indication, it had been a long while. It was time he learned to surrender.

Dave knew Emily was killing him. Where the hell had she learned to do that technique? She was using her body for sweet wonderful torture to manipulate and lead him wherever she decided. God, he was willing to follow her anywhere….until he felt the all too familiar feeling taking over.

He didn't want it to end, but what she was doing was too much and his body begged for release. It was coming too fast, too hard…oh God! Burying his face in her hair, he felt his body shudder violently as it released into her tight wet core. Holding on for dear life, Dave felt the earth spin as her body milked the precious last drops of him. Then he was sobbing.

Emily felt the power behind his release and wondered how they could still be in one piece. As he slipped from her body, she felt his head on her shoulder and his body shook. Slowly she realized he was crying.

_Oh God! _The day from hell had turned into a nightmare, followed by angry sex, and ending with David Rossi breaking down in her arms. If the situation wasn't so surreal, it would be funny.

Unable to find the words to comfort him, she did the next best thing: she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight.


End file.
